The Troggs were one of those groups from the sixties who, although only having a comparatively brief spell of sales success, are seen as important and influential, in much the same way as Van Morrison's Them, for example, or The Pretty Things. Their big hits, mostly achieved within an 18 month time span in the mid sixties, reek of attitude and rawness and, if you like, of a punkish feel, indeed their lead singer, who has just passed away from cancer, Reg Presley, often equated the early Troggs with the pioneering of punk rock.

 

Their big hits included Love Is All Around, which was later turned into a mega UK success story by Wet!Wet!Wet!, a UK number one "With A Girl Like You", "I Can't Control Myself" (banned in some quarters because of its apparent sexual explicitness), and, of course, ""Wild Thing", a favourite of many an aspiring up and coming live band to this day.

 

Not bad for perhaps the most talented band to ever come out of the UK's west country, not usually an area associated with energetic British rock.

 

All of these tracks are accessible on youtube for anyone not familiar with this great band's music, and also available on youtube, if you type in something like "The Troggs swearing session" is an exert from a recording session that they did in the seventies, a session in which the language of all the band members was somewhat too colourful for me to repeat on a forum as decent as this one!

 

That session was almost certainly a big influence on some of the ideas for the later iconic rock spoof film, "This Is Spinal Tap".

 

In more recent years many acts have cited The Troggs as a big influence, in particular REM - Michael Stipe has always enthused about the quality of Reg Presley's talented outfit.

 

Reg himself has never really disappeared out of the headlines. In recent decades he seemed to become a spokeman for those who believed in crop circles created by aliens! He even invested a great deal of his royalty money from the aforementioned Love Is All Around into looking inot the crop circle phenomenon. And he has often appeared in tv documentaries on sixties music and rock music in general.

 

RIP Reg, and let's never forget the delightful and attitude filled music of The Troggs.

R.I.P. Reg. Wild Thing is the ultimate garage band anthem.

The Henrdix live covers of that were amazing!

 

http://thisyearinmusic.wordpress.com/2013/...u-want-me-1965/

 

Reg was a local hero round these parts, great live, and I bought a Michael Stipe related/Troggs album in the late 80's I think it was. The Goodies did a funny version of Wild Thing too. Reg was a great character..

Thank you for the replies. Actually someone has said to me that you cannot define The Troggs as having come from the west country, as Andover, where they were born, is not technically in that part of the world.

 

Fair point, I just think that their accents made them sound as if they came from the west country!

 

Reg Presley was actually born Reg Ball, and perhaps rather arrogantly changed his name to Presley later on! Typical of the man and his style, a great British eccentric.

 

Wild Thing did top the American charts, at a time when music was maybe getting a little soft again - a gentle and firm reminder of what rock was originally about, as indicated by its title. And yes, Jimi Hendrix did some terrific versions of the song.

 

In spite of having some big hits on both sides of the Atlantic their chart career was still very brief, and I would define The Troggs as yet another of those sixties bands that could and should have been a lot bigger than they were.

 

You could say that it took that Scottish band, and a well known film soundtrack, to enhance the name of Reg Presley.

 

But it is a name that deserves to be enhanced. RIP for all time, Reg.

According to the obituary I read, the name change wasn't Reg Ball's decision. The first he knew of it was when the name Reg Presley appeared in the NME. Apparently he then demanded to know why he had been replaced by this Presley bloke without being told.

http://www.dingsme.info/avatar8.jpgR.I.P. Reg. Wild Thing is the ultimate garage band anthem.

According to the obituary I read, the name change wasn't Reg Ball's decision. The first he knew of it was when the name Reg Presley appeared in the NME. Apparently he then demanded to know why he had been replaced by this Presley bloke without being told.

 

Could be, I only have it on hearsay that he changed his name himself.

 

Whatever the story, Reg Presley does sound more exotic and rock and roll than Reg Ball!